It is now many years since Mark Heywood as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire 2011-2012 initiated the Getting Court project in Gloucestershire, and it is quite clear that the project has succeeded beyond expectations. It has received praise from the Resident Judges, the Probation Service, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the teachers from the participating schools and, most importantly perhaps, from the students themselves. In the first three years alone approximately 700 students from 30 educational establishments have attended the sessions.
The number of under 21's in prison in June 2013 was 7,138 (Offender Management Statistics (Quarterly), Ministry of Justice). The cost is huge, human as well as financial, and efforts to guide young people away from crime are essential. Getting Court relies on the participation of good people who have the desire to help the young, whether they are heading down a path that will land them in front of the Judge as a defendant, or heading towards a career as a Court Clerk or Barrister.
Getting Court is now available in South Gloucestershire and High Sheriffs in other Counties are looking to start similar models. High Sheriffs have always been associated with keeping the King's Peace and in modern times continue to support the judiciary by providing a non-partisan, civilian link to the local community, and to local institutions such as magistracy, the police, probation and prison services and other voluntary services. The High Sheriff is in a unique position of influence and independence.
Courts are encouraged by the Ministry of Justice to engage more with the communities they serve. The common aim of Community Engagement is to improve public confidence in the Criminal Justice System. It is recognised that the more people play an active role in supporting their own justice system, the safer their communities are likely to be and the more engaged members of the public will be in reporting crime, coming forward as witnesses, volunteering as magistrates and understanding that our justice system is second to none.
Origins and Purpose of Getting Court.
The “Getting Court” Project is an initiative run at Gloucester Crown Court. Having been started by High Sheriff Mark Heyward in 2012, the Project has been operating on a monthly basis but was suspended during the period of the covid-19 pandemic. It is funded by the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire and the Gloucestershire Police & Crime Commissioner.
The Project promotes greater interaction between Gloucester Crown Court and Gloucestershire Secondary Schools, state and private, by organising visits by a diverse selection of students to a working crown court. The day of the visit is always a Friday, the day in the working week when the Court usually presents a variety of cases covering pre-trial preparation hearings, sentencing and preliminary management hearings.
The primary purposes of these court visits is both educational and cautionary. Educational in that the students get to see a crown court in action, experience how it deals with a broad swathe of human frailty, entrenched criminals, and the many who are in reality disenfranchised from opportunities in society. The experience is designed to provide an informed insight into how the crown court operates and the differing and interleaving component parts of the criminal justice system such as counsel, the Criminal Prosecution Service, the Probation Service and the Mental Health Diversion Service. In addition, it enables the students to understand that it is their court where they can see that justice is done in public, and that they should never even consider having to take matters into their own hands.
Cautionary in that all visiting students will be invited to think about their own roles in fostering justice by engaging, with knowledge and without fear, in the processes by which justice is administered; to consider the effects on a defendant of one stupid, or reckless or perhaps intentional, act resulting in a custodial sentence; to see for themselves the effects on the injured party of a burglary, a violent or sexual attack, or fraud.
Structure of the Project
Overall, the Project is designed to make abundantly clear to all visiting students, whatever their social and educational advantages or disadvantage, that anybody can be vulnerable to making mistakes in life. The programme consists of court visits each month for, typically, 25 students from one or more schools and organised by the Liaison Officer, who will make the necessary arrangements between the Court and the schools. The current Liaison Officer is Di Harrill a GHLL Lead teacher – formally a teacher a Newent Community School - who is contactable at di.harrill@ghll.org.uk.
The students are between 14 and18 years of age and are ordinarily drawn from at least two educational settings for each visit. The Court is insistent that the students are drawn from different educational establishments and demographics, including students from establishments that look after excluded students or students with special needs. They, ironically, are often the keenest to ask questions and frequently, whether by accident or design, pose the rather more searching questions.
The students are assembled at the back of the Court rather than the capacious public gallery. This helps keep the viewing of the court process on an up-close and personal basis. The students are given a short history of the 200 year old court, its function, and purpose. They will have explained the roles of the differing participants in the court process.
The students will be given a summary of what they are going to hear by way of cases in the list, the majority usually being related to drugs, fraud, ill-tempered and/or alcohol-fuelled punch ups, or driving offences. The students are hearing these cases because these are the type of offences and people which the arbitrary hand of fate can and frequently does deliver before a court no matter what their life circumstances.
Where possible, sexual offences are not generally put before the students for reasons of discretion, however, all students are made aware that this might be a possibility.
As part of the cautionary process the judge will point out to the assembled youngsters that social demographics pay no heed to crime, so it is important they do not view the morning’s proceedings as some sort human zoo or the failures of society. Everybody in the court room is capable of ending up in the dock by making the wrong choice, and often as a consequence of the vagaries of opportunities in life.
As part of this process a former offender is called to give a talk to the students about making the wrong choices/decisions in life. In Gloucestershire the speaker is provided by Prospects Youth Support Service.
The students are then invited to ask questions of either the former offender or the judge, and proceedings close at around 12:30/13.00.
Other aspects of the project
Teaching Resource. The Project dovetails into the existing PSHE & Citizenship part of the National curriculum and the following links will enable access to websites containing further detail of the Criminal Justice System.
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/research-and-resources/resources-for-teachers/
https://www.judiciary.uk/diversity/schools-engagement/resources-for-teachers-and-learners/
https://www.safe4me.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Fearless_CountyLinesResource_18pp_V2_online.pdf
https://benkinsella.org.uk/resources-for-teachers-and-practitioners/
https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources/knife-crime
https://www.youthandpolicing.co.uk/plans/knife-crime/
https://www.youthandpolicing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/County-Lines-Lesson-Plan.pdf
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/ztnnb9q/articles/zrs44xs
Funding. The Project is funded by the High Sheriff's Fund with the substantial assistance from the Gloucestershire PCC Fund. The costs of the Liaison Officer, printed materials and teaching aids are paid for by High Sheriff's Fund, and schools may apply for a contribution towards transport costs in special circumstances.
Specimen Itinerary
09:00/09:30. Students and teachers arrive at the court and are welcomed by the Liaison Officer, together with the High Sheriff, before entering the court room.
09:30-09:45/10:00. The students plus teachers assemble at the back of the court, not in the public gallery. Depending on the design of the court it is thought preferable to have the students proximate to the proceedings in the well of the court.
Once assembled both the presiding judge and the High Sheriff introduce themselves. They explain a little of the history of their respective roles and the judge summarises the purpose of the day and what lessons it is hoped will be learnt. The students are given a summary of the day’s cases and the purpose of the assorted appearances.
10:00-11:30 The cases are heard.
11:30 approximately. A former offender will attend court and speak to the students about his life and the art of not making the wrong decisions by way of examples in respect of his own life.
12:00-12:30. Former offender and judge take questions from the students and teachers, and generally discuss lessons emanating from the morning session.
12:30. Proceedings in court conclude but students and teachers often will want to chat further with former offender, and this can take place outside the court room. The judge’s involvement also comes to an end.
HHJ Ian Lawrie KC Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller KBE
Honorary Recorder of Gloucester High Sheriff of Gloucestershire 2022-23
June 2022